The present invention relates to an improvement made to the spindles used in the textile industry, especially for the twisting of yarns.
Twisting spindles are devices which have been known for a very long time and consist essentially of a shaft (or spindle shank) mounted freely rotatably on the stand of the machine by means of a suitable bearing.
In addition to so-called "single-twist" spindles, in which the tube around which the yarn is wound is fitted directly onto the spindle shank and which therefore make it possible to obtain one twisting turn on the yarn for one rotation of the spindle, it has been proposed for a very long time to provide so-called "double-twist" spindles which, like the preceding spindles, comprise a vertical shank driven in rotation. In both cases, the most widespread system involves the use, as means for driving in rotation, of an endless belt which drives all spindles of the machine simultaneously and which is in tangential contact with the base of the shank of the spindle.
Where single-twist twisting spindles are concerned, it has been proposed for a very long time, as disclosed particularly in French Patent 650,239 and in U.S. Pat. No. 2,274,147, to drive the spindles individually by means of an electric motor. Many improvements to such a system for driving by individual motor have been proposed. Of the recent solutions, mention may be made of that which is the subject of French Patent 81/12,918 (Publication 2,508,499), corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,926, which has the advantage over the prior solutions of allowing a highly effective damping of the vibrations, of lowering the center of gravity of the assembly as a whole in relation to the supporting stand, of being silent, and of being easily dismountable, especially during a maintenance operation.
However, as regards double-twist spindles which are of a much more complex design in comparison with single-twist spindles, the drive by means of an individual motor still presents some problems, especially with regard to the ease with which the elements forming the "textile part" of such assemblies are dismounted, these elements consisting essentially of a package holder concentric relative to the axis of the spindle intended for receiving the yarn reel to be twisted, this package being composed essentially of a stationary axis arranged in the movable axis, of a base, of a protective can fitted onto the base, of a rotary guide plate fixed to the actual spindle and located in a horizontal plane under the package holder, and means for immobilizing said package holder.